Disney World

We had a fabulous time on vacation in Disney World with all the crazy Madsens...all 16 of us! We stayed at Disney's Caribbean Beach Resort and we loved being so close to all the parks. It truly was a vacation...our biggest worry was deciding which fun thing to do next. I didn't once have to make a meal or clean it up, put a child in or out of a carseat, make a bed, do laundry, or scrub a surface. And although Disney sure does things right and we had a magical time at the parks, the best part was being with family. Now that we're all spread out over the country, it's a big treat to have everyone together. It was also fun to be back with Steve--we spent our honeymoon 5 1/2 years ago in Orlando. There were lots of things that we did that brought back fun memories of our honeymoon. It was so great to be there again with our own little family. Hopefully we can make this a tradition.

Magic Kingdom

Gus, Steve w/Grant, Ryan, Sarah, Annie, Granny.
Amy, Sam, Beth, Nate.
Jane, Gus, Granny
Steve, Grant, Kasey, Sarah.

Jane certainly earned the "Aunt of the Day" award for this one....
she waited in line for 45 minutes with Sarah & Beth to go on Dumbo,
which lasted 90 seconds.

I love Beth's eyes in this one.

The obligatory Family Picture

My Boys....so cute.

The hotel had a great pool with a kiddie area. There was also a "big slide" that was big for the kids, but not too exciting for the adults.

Even though Grant looks completely freaked out, he loved this slide. He went on it over and over for at least an hour. His scared face always got a gasp from any other parents waiting for their kids at the bottom.




Girls Night Out....we let the boys and grandparents take all the kids back to the hotel while we went to Hollywood Studios. We sang Aerosmith's "I Don't Want to Miss a Thing" at least three times at full volume throughout the evening in honor of the Rockin Roller Coaster, which we rode three times! We're proud of you, Jess!

Breakfast at Cinderella's Castle

Sarah, Beth, Amy, & I got to eat breakfast in Cinderella's castle. We were able to get into the park early, which was great to not fight with crowds down Main Street. It was even more magical than normal! The girls wore little dresses I made to look like what Cinderella and Snow White would have worn when they were little. Sarah & Beth loved everything about their princess breakfast, except the actual breakfast. They were too excited talking with and about the princesses to eat. All the princesses were so sweet to take time with each girl. Snow White was adorable with Beth....she asked Beth if she'd been shopping in her closet this morning. Then she gave Beth a kiss on the cheek and Beth was on cloud nine. It was such a fun memory, one that Sarah still talks about constantly, about what she's going to wear next time and how she'll dance with Cinderella and how she'll say different things with the other princesses.

Downtown Disney

This little train was at Downtown Disney, where there are lots of restaurants and shops. Once Grant saw it there was no taking him away. He absolutely loved it. I love his face and how he puts his hands on his knees in these pictures. That's what he does when he's really excited.
Isn't Annie so cute doing the "Tish pose"?

EPCOT
Steve and I thought it would be fun to get a photo in front of the EPCOT golf ball, just like on our honeymoon. I asked Mom for a picture and she jumped right in, not realizing I wanted her to take the picture, not be in the picture. Then Nate thought it would be fun to join, then Jessy, and finally everyone was in our picture.

Lots of fun down-time

Notice the frozen lemonade in Steve's hand....
the meal plan was a major plus for Steve, an extra bit of magic at every meal/snack.

Sarah & Beth were naturals at playing the air guitar...
but who wouldn't be with Ryan as a teacher?

Sarah & Beth modeling Minnie dresses I made for them, complete with bloomers and all.
They loved spending every second together.
I know this is a funny picture, but there's something about it I love. It's just typical Josh to show his bellybutton and typical Sarah to just watch.

Cute Beth

At the bottom of Splash Mountain there is this little shade play area that we all loved. Sarah & Beth kept taking orders and informing all their customers that "sorry, we're all out of that." Grant was just happy to play in the shade.

Sarah & Gus.

Waiting in line to see Minnie.


Lots of rides on "Small World"

This is the only shot I have of the three little boys.
Too bad they're all entranced with the puppets and music.
Will & Jessy.
Steve, Grant, Gus, Jane.
Sam.
Beth.
Annie & Sarah.

Steve, Grant, Kasey.
Grant & Steve....typical Small World faces.
Beth & Sarah.

Anything related to cars was an
instant favorite with Grant.

Grant sticks his tongue out like this when he gets really excited. "Cars" is probably Grant's very favorite thing to watch and he couldn't hardly believe that he was meeting Lightning McQueen.

The whole family with Mater, as in Tow-Mater.

The Originals.

Nate, Josh, Kasey, Jane, Annie--in birth order, of course.
I'm pretty sure we had this same picture taken 16 years ago.

Character sightings EVERYWHERE!!!

In this picture, Sarah was showing Minnie how she walks like her. I never did anything to show Sarah how to do it. One day she said to me, "Mama look, I'm walking like Minnie Mouse!" Then she put her hands out to the side, bent her knees, and wiggled her bum back and forth as she walked. It was hilarious! And Minnie thought it was adorable to have Sarah show her how she walks.




"Come on, Grant. It's Mickey. He's nice."

And of course a lot of rides
on Cinderella's Carousel

Patting the good horsie.
You can tell this is the last day....look at those tired eyes.
Even though they were both so tired they still managed to
watch Cars on the airplane ride home.

What a week it was! We returned home and truly needed a vacation to recover from this vacation. Thanks Granny & Gus for a fantastic, memorable week with the family. And thank you Walt Disney for all the magic!